Tales Of a Hidden
by HappyInsanity13
Summary: "You have to bring back the magic." The hooded figure told Kaoru gravely. "Wait, what?" In which The Royal Family ruins the magic and Kaoru, being the only one left in the race of the Hidden, magic's protectors has to bring it back, with a little help from her mad friends of course.


**PROLOGUE**

If it wasn't that dark, you'd see the smoke. There were screams of terror, agony and pain everywhere, shrieks of panic. Mothers calling their children, others telling their kids to run. The air was saturated with the smell of blood and death. At least it was dark enough to see the flames bearing the telltale hue of cursed fire. Soldiers, their silver armor gleaming in the crimson light surrounded the village, killing all those who tried to escape. But you might have missed it, after all, this particular village was practically in the middle of nowhere.  
Maybe you're thinking : this is one of those no survivor cases. It was, until you saw a tiny figure rushing - or what you'd call rushing for an eight-year-old who was dragging her father's daisho behind her - of the burning eyes were wide with fright, but they were still streaming with tears as she ran. After what seemed like an eternity, she got to a river and trekked upstream to find a cave hidden behind a large waterfall. She slipped severally on the slimy algae covered stones but managed to get into the cave. She went as far back as possible before she collapsed, shivering uncontrollably. She recounted the events that had lead to ... that.  
Peaceful morning. Father teaching at the dojo. Burnt lunch. Pranking the annoying kimono-wearing girl next door. Sleeping early. Shaken awake. Father panicking. Hurrying out of the burning dojo. His last words : Don't look back.

The poor girl cried herself to sleep.

* * *

"Is it done?" a young cold tenor rang throughout the Throne Room."Yes, your highness. All the inhabitants killed, and the village burnt to the ground as you requested. The cisteria was destroyed as per the Regent's instructions."  
"Do you have the shard I requested for?" A soft voice, cold as the first, asked.  
"Yes, hime-sama. Here it is. The last bit of magic from the Hidden's cisteria as per your request."  
"You have done your duty well. I thank you for that. You may leave." The first speaker dismissed the Commander with a wave of his hand. The man bowed and left the room.  
"So, what do you think, nee-san?"  
"My only concern as of now is that the Regent's words and research may prove false."  
"Of course it is true! I helped him research it. Since we've destroyed the cisteria, everyone will lose their magic and funnily enough, their memories of magic will automatically be reversed. The Philosopher I consulted said it was something about how we've corrupted the essence of magic. Since our well's the only one that will remain, everyone will believe that only The Regent and the heirs to the throne are the only ones who The Spirits granted the ability to use the magic. Clever, isn't it?"  
"I hope your theory is correct. If not, we'll have a full blown uprising on our plate."  
"Who cares? People will blame it on The Regent, not us. After all, we're 'innocent' kids who aren't even of age."  
"If you say so, nii-sama."

* * *

And thus came to an end to a great age of magic. The village, and its people- now dead- were often referred to as The Hidden, a tribe dedicated to preserving and protecting the country's largest cisteria which served everyone apart from the royal family, who had a small, insignificant well. After humans fell out with The Spirits (which also happens to be the royal family's fault), all the Gates to the Spirit World were closed, leaving the poor humans to make use of the only remaining two sources of magic: the two cisteria.  
The next day, everyone lost their ability to use magic and most lost their memories of magic, with very few retaining their memories. Eventually, they learnt how to keep their tongues in check, as they were at the risk of being shipped of to mental asylum.

* * *

"Hikari, have you seen this? The royal family's greed has gone too far this time!"  
"Mizu, of course I've seen it. Unfortunately, we can't interfere directly. We'll just have to wait until the little Hidden grows up. We'll send her to restore what was lost."  
"How sure are you that she'll remember?"  
"She's been touched by pure magic, unlike most. She'll be able to remember. The Royal Princess actually aided us here unknowingly. She preserved part of the cisteria's core and has implanted it in the royal family's well. Look, Tsuchi is already meddling."  
True to her word, Tsuchi, the Earth spirit, had taken the sleeping girl and taken her to the capital's outskirts. He knocked on the back gate of a well-known clinic and gave the girl to the doctor- an aging man- who merely nodded and took her. After a brief conversation, Tsuchi left.  
"Ankoku will not be pleased."

* * *

**GLOSSARY**  
Daisho - A matched set of Japanese long and short sword. In Kaoru's case,it's going to be a katana and wakizashi.  
Cisteria - A well of magic  
Dojo - A school teaching the martial arts or swordsmanship.


End file.
